The Prayer Of St Francis Of Assisi Poem by duncan wyllie

The Prayer Of St Francis Of Assisi



Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

St. Francis was born at Assisi in 1182. After a care free youth, he turned his back on inherited wealth and committed himself to God. Like many early saints, he lived a very simple life of poverty, and in so doing, gained a reputation of being the friend of animals. He established the rule of St Francis, which exists today as the Order of St. Francis, or the Franciscans. He died in 1226, aged 44.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Joe Breunig 04 January 2012

Thanks for sharing this gem; prayers are still applicable today; more than ever, we need more people to 'walk in the love of God' and thus bring down the peace of heaven to Earth. Another enjoyable piece; appreciated the footnote; makes one wonder how long will Truth remain elusive to the intellect of maknind; wonderfully written. -Joe Breunig Reaching Towards His Unbounded Glory

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Peter Cyril Riloskovic 14 December 2007

One of my favorite prayers. Thanks for posting it along with the Biographical information.

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Melody Rhymer 14 December 2007

My favorite prayer and Saint...WHY..it's my brithday he is honored on..and I just fell in love with that prayer and everything about him...that prayer sums up everything you should or can be in Christ...amen..thank you for posting that...I needed that today

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Andrew Blakemore 30 March 2009

This is indeed a most beautiful prayer and is as relevant today as when it was written. A wonderful posting Duncan. Best wishes, Andrew

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Ernestine Northover 28 July 2009

I love this prayer Duncan. I can remember having a beautiful coloured picture of St. Francis in my prayer book when I was a child with all the animals around him. One never forgets pictures like that. Lovely to read it once again. Love and hugs Ernestine XXX

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Richard Wlodarski 28 April 2022

On an unconscious level, I've been praying, and following, this prayer all my life. Thank you very much, duncan for bringing it to the conscious level.

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Gerald Martin 26 February 2019

This is my favourite spiritual/religious poem. But I think it's an affront to the life of St. Francis to use a robotic voice to speak this poem. I also agree with Oilibheir Alain Christie that it was not penned by St. Francis, but by the French priest he names.

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Oilibheir Álain Christie 06 August 2016

This prayer is truly beautiful but it was written by the French priest Esther Auguste Bouquerel in 1912; NOT by st Francis of Assisi in the XIIIth century. Its attribution to St Francis is a HOAX which seems to have started in 1939. Please verify your info before uploading it!

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David Gerardino 16 March 2012

i did a study on ST FRANCIS, A LONG AGO, , , , LOVE THE IDEA...............

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David Gerardino 17 February 2012

SAINT FRANCIS, is one of my heros, very good.

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